The Emerald Virgin (Gem Apocalypse Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

return home to your cottage and loveless life."
    He knew nothing about her life or her. "Yes, I do." Aria stood. "Show me the door."
    James muttered under his breath. Apparently Aria didn't give him the reaction he'd been looking for. "Sit down." His eyes were cast down on the ground. He looked embarrassed. Did Aria just humiliate a prince?
    Aria did as instructed only because she knew he couldn't let her go. Even if he did help her escape, they'd probably drag her back a day or two later if she returned to the cottage. Aria would have to slip from the castle and leave the kingdom. How far could she get before finding more trouble? What had once been the United States was now Brayleigh. To venture from this kingdom, she'd have to journey by boat across the ocean. Were there survivors among their allies and enemies? The war may have ended, but it didn't mean she'd be safe over there. Aria couldn't hide her emerald eyes. Not like back in the day when contacts could change the color and make you appear however you wished. That was before the attack and the first riots. She'd only heard of such things in old battered magazines lying around the cottage.
    "You are a handful. I should have known that's why Henry walked right on by without so much as a second glance. For a brother that likes gems, he must have known the trouble one would cause."
    Aria sneered at James. "Tell me you don't believe it." Emeralds, people with green eyes, are known to be power and money hungry. Does James think that about her? It's not true. No part of the belief system created to destroy the world in genocide was true. How could James think of her like that? She may not be easy or pleasant at times, but she wasn't what the enemy said.
    James shifted in his seat. "Of course not, but you are trouble. I can see it in you, the rebellious streak. My father will beat it out of you."
    "So what? I'm supposed to pretend it doesn't bother me that he ordered the execution of my mother and dragged me from my home, drugged me, stripped me naked, and stole my freedom? No part of what you and your father are doing is okay."
    James grimaced. "I am sorry about your mother. I can't change our world, but I can protect you here."
    Aria stood. The longer she spent time with James the faster he seemed to be growing on her nerves. "I don't need your protection." She thought August or Henry would have been a poor choice to be paired with as a courtesan, but James seemed to be the winner in pissing her off.
    "Where are you going?" James asked. He stood and followed after her as she headed inside.
    "Back to my room. Which is where?" Aria asked, feeling turned around. Aria hadn't learned the halls of the palace.
    James reached for her arm and she elbowed him away, forcefully. She didn't want him touching her, not without him asking permission.
    A maid carrying a basket of laundry looked stricken. "I have no choice," he hissed at Aria under his breath. Grabbing the nearest seat on a bench, he grabbed Aria by the waist and tossed her over his knee as he sat down.
    James lifted her dress over her hips revealing the white cotton panties for the world to see. She screamed, kicking and flailing in protest.
    "Quiet down or you'll get a bigger audience," he said as a warning.
    Prince James pulled her panties down to her knees and spanked her hard on her cheeks. She felt the initial sting and winced. Her eyes burned with tears of humiliation and pain. Why punish her? The maid stood there, watching the entire event, unable to move. Or perhaps unwilling to? Did she enjoy watching?
    Aria let her eyes lock on the floor, unwilling to meet the maid's stare. However, Aria could see her shoes and knew that she hadn't budged from her position on the marble floor.
    His hand came down a second time and the pain radiated across her rear. Wetness began to seep between her folds, and she prayed he didn't notice or see her glistening pink flesh. That would be worse than having an audience.
    "You will obey